going from volunteer social rec coordinator to paid

[kabbro]

Our RV/park model park is experiencing a decrease in volunteerism and because of the workload involved, the several individuals who now form a social recreational committee are feeling overtasked; there is a proposal to hire a paid (presumably part-time) social rec director to coordinate the activities--volunteerism would still be essential. If any other RV community or similar park has had experience with a transition like this, feedback about the results, pros and cons, success or lack of success, unintended consequences etc would be desired and welcome. Thank you for sharing.

[Janss]

Yes, I'd be careful if it is one of the rec committee members who thinks they should be paid to be the Activities Director.

I spend winters at a park where each lot is owned separately. So we have an HOA and Board of Directors. Our BOD hires the employees. Is this similar to your park?

We have a paid Park Manager, who is the boss of the paid Activities Director. We have a volunteer activities committee. We try to have one volunteer head up each type of activity, like sports, card games, crafts, etc.

Be sure to write up a specific job description for this paid position. We've had some Activities Directors take more power and do more things than we intended for that position. Currently, our AD manages the calendar and scheduling of all activities in the different rooms of our clubhouse, makes flyers and sign-up sheets, takes care of the activities money, plans *some* of the activities, such as some entertainment (concerts), annual park picnic at a lake, etc. But generally she relies on the volunteer heads to plan the ongoing recreation.

Our social calendar is very very busy. Even our paid AD gets overwhelmed keeping it all straight. And yes, we also have a problem with declining volunteerism. Can't imagine now if we didn't have a paid AD! Years ago we were in your situation. First had a volunteer AD. Then paid someone else within the park. That's where the power struggle started...which is why the suggestion to be cautious. Our current paid AD is from the outside.

Also consider a contract with the prospective employee, something that allows the park to get out of the arrangement after one season if you don't like how things are working out. I don't even know if that's legal...just suggesting the idea.

[NMDriver]

Based on watching my DAV volunteer transportation coordinator at work. Make sure none of the volunteers are working the system to get a paid job.

Paid employees generally will maneuver to get more pay for less work. Nothing wrong with that, but if their supervisor is a committee, instead of a single boss, it is hard to get everyone to agree on what their priority job should be, so as a result they set their own priorities, which often include not working very much 🙂